"Well, make sure you don't leave the premises, else we're gonna have to come back. That's an order, alright?" Soarin said.
"It's only one week, so I know you can handle it." Misty finished.
"Thank you two, I couldn't have done it without you." Dust replied, hugging them both before they left.
She closed the door, locking it. Alone for the first time since her return home, Lightning had no idea what to do. She couldn't leave, couldn't see any-pony, couldn't go out to eat, and couldn't even go out to fly. What was some-pony in her position supposed to do?
"I guess I can just make do with what I have in my house..." Dust thought to herself as she sighed.
Getting up from her seat on the couch, she made her way to the kitchen, assembling a small flower sandwich. Pouring herself a glass of water, she made her way to the kitchen table. She sat down and started to eat her sandwich, admiring the clouds outside her window.
Finishing her food, she cleaned up and went straight to bed. The interview stressed herself out enough, and waking up so early in the morning threw her off even more.
Stumbling to bed, she practically flung herself onto her mattress, sprawling out across it. Falling asleep was the easy part, as she was out within minutes.
Waking up, she checked the clock.
9:22 A.M.
"How the hell did I sleep for over 12 hours..." she thought drowsily, getting up to go eat some breakfast.
It was her second day on house arrest, and she practically slept through the first one. This was gonna be easy, or so she hoped.
Ironically enough, she decided it would be best to run down stairs to take her mind off of her solitude. As expected, she fell right on her ass, smacking the hoof-monitor on the wall as she rolled down the stairs.
“Hnngrrr...” She groaned, getting up.
Her face dropped when she realized that her monitor was beeping crazily. She examined it to find a large crack in the middle of it.
“OH FOR BUCKS SAKE!” She yelled, laying back down onto the floor.
“Maybe they’ll understand…I can’t leave the building, it broke just because I fell…” she mumbled, cringing at her aching hoof and the sound of the loud alarm.
Sure enough, within ten minutes knocking came at her door. She got up, walked towards the door, and opened it to see two familiar faces.
“Lightning Dust! What the hell did you do?” Soarin said, disappointed.
Misty Fly stood there, looking at Dust’s hoof.
“She’s bleeding…how’d you do that?” She asked, perplexed.
“Explains the broken wall…” He said, walking inside.
Misty Fly stood with Lightning as she took some gauze out of her saddlebag and wrapped it tightly around her hoof.
“Feel better? Can you stand on it?”
“Uh-huh…” was the response.
“What made you crash down the stairs…?” A curious stallion asked her from a distance.
“I was trying to change my routine…this is harder than it looks apparently…” Dust replied, defeated.
“Alright, we’ll mark it down as accidental damage.” Soarin said as he produces another hoof monitor from his saddlebag.
Walking over, he placed the monitor onto Dust’s hoof, tightening it enough to avoid discomfort.
“That’s good…thank you…” She answered, looking back at her damaged wall and sighing.
“Alright, be careful. I’d avoid using that hoof for a few hours until the pain goes away. Other than that, make sure you don’t damage that device again.” Misty answered as the two pegasi walked to the door.
“Will do…!” Dust called out, the door shutting as the two ponies took off into the sky.
”Well that was awkward…and I still have 6 days to live in boredom…” she thought, putting a hoof up to her chin.
“Hmmm..” she smiled, aware of the idea swirling through her head.
“I wonder if I could get her to come back…and maybe get me to go with her…”
Dust immediately looked to her window, thrusting it open and placed her bracelet bound hoof through it. As she did, a beeping sound filled her ears as the tiny device flashed rapidly.
It took five minutes this time, and this time the door opened.
“I forgot to lock the door?!” She yelped internally, instantly switching her face to a look of confusion.
“Alright what is it this time…? Where did you go?” Soarin spotted the mare and walked up to her, with Misty following close behind.
“I just opened my window to get some fresh air, and the device started going off…!” She frantically explained, offering her innocent grin to the two pegasi standing in front of her.
“…With your hind hoof…?” A questioning Soarin asked, a doubtful look in his eyes.
“Ehm…well…yes…?” Dust forced out.
Misty Fly walked over to her and stared her right in the eyes. She took one look at her before tilting her head in doubt as well.
“Okay…maybe I stuck my hoof out the window to get you guys here…but I needed to! I can’t do this anymore! Sorry for wasting your time…if you need to take me to the slammer you can do it now…” She explained, defeat shining in her eyes.
“Well, since you didn’t physically leave your property, we can’t take you.” Soarin answered.
“Say…why did you do that then…?” Misty asked curiously.
“I wanted to see you, Misty…” Dust blurted out, placing a hoof on her mouth to avoid anything else from spilling out.
“See me…? Are you sad or scared? I can’t tell…” Misty replied, confused.
Soarin shot both of them confused looks before fixing his awkward gaze upon Dust.
“Neither! I was hoping that maybe you could…ehm…supervise me out of my home…? We could get lunch! I need some-pony as a friend…I don’t think I can do this alone!” She pleaded desperately, producing a sad frown towards Misty.
Misty Fly’s mouth fell agape, surprised by her sudden oburst.
Dust took her facial structure with deep sorrow.
“Sorry…it’s okay if you don’t want to…I’ll be fine…don’t worry…I’m sorry for being such a burden!” She yelped, opting to play with her hoof awkwardly on the floor while staring down.
Misty Fly reached out her hoof to Dust, pushing her chin up.
“Of course I can! Don’t worry, I’ll be here for you.” Misty reassured her, smiling brightly.
Dust grinned ear to ear, hugging Misty.
“Alright, Misty, if you need anything from me, let me know. I’ll be back at Headquarters, but I’ll come and visit you two tomorrow.” Soarin added.
Misty nodded as Soarin closed the door behind him, launching into the sky.
”Now I have a buddy! Thank Celestia…I would’ve gotten myself arrested just to see some-pony else again.” She thought, a bout of relief washing over her body.
“Well, what would you like to do?” Misty asked, staring at the mare before her.
“Ehm…you can lead the way! I just wanted a friend…and you’re here! Whatever you’d like to do, I’m down to do 100 percent!”
“Well…now that you mention it…lunch would be a good idea.” Misty replies, putting a hoof on her stomach.
“Alright! Let’s go!” Dust yelled excitedly, running to the door with her friend in tow.
“Wait!” Is all Dust heard before she was yanked to the floor, stopping her from moving an inch more.
She turned to see Misty hovering above her, a tool in her mouth that was now prodding the side of the device on her hoof. She fiddled around with her tool for a few more seconds before allowing Dust to get back up.
“Just gotta make sure it doesn’t start going off when we leave. Better be safe than sorry, right?”
Dust smiled happily as the two left the house and took off in the direction of Cloudsdale.
It didn’t take long for them to reach their designated spot.
“Here we are, the Sky Diner!” An excited Misty Fly announced.
“Wow…this place looks awesome!” Dust answered as the two made their way inside and to a booth.
A waiter made their way towards the booth, taking their orders as he neared them.
“I’ll take a dandelion sandwich with a slice of apple pie, please.” Misty said.
“And I’ll have what she’s having.” Dust quickly responded.
“Alright, two dandelion sandwiches and two slices of apple pie coming right up.” The waiter said as he walked toward the counter.
“How original…” Misty Fly smirked and giggled as she stared at Dust.
Dust shared a laugh with her while waiting for their food.
As they sat, two fillies ran to Misty’s side, grinning wide.
“Hey there little fillies!” Misty said, smiling at the two.
“Misty…Fly! You the coolest Wonderbolt Evah!!!” They both said in unison. One of them held a piece of paper in their mouth and the other a pen.
“D’aww, thank you. Do you want an autograph?”
“Mhmmm!” They replied in unison, placing the two items infront of Misty.
She took the pen in her mouth and signed the paper, adding her cutie mark on the side.
“Thamk you!” The two said, clutching the pen and paper in their mouths before running off cheerfully.
“Wow, you’re really popular.” Dust mentioned, smiling.
“I guess so, kids run up to me everytime I come here. Might’ve been the uniform, but I’m not sure.” Misty answered.
“Hah, no way, it’s gotta be you.” Dust insisted.
Misty and Dust smiled at each other as their food was set out in front of them. They both began eating as they sat back and enjoyed their meals together.
After paying for their food, the pair started their journey back to Dust’s home. As they were flying, Dust caught a glimpse of Misty yawning.
“Someone looks a little tired.” She said, looking at Misty.
“Yeah…been up all night doing paperwork for the Wonderbolts…again…” She answered, sighing.
As they touched down and entered Dust’s home, Dust led Misty to her bedroom.
“You can sleep here, it’ll be like a little sleep over!” She said excitedly.
“Thanks Dust.” Misty Fly said, crawling onto one side of the bed.
The meal made Dust very tired; after all, a large apple pie slice would do that to you. She climbed into the opposite side of bed, turning off the light as she did. The two mares laid there before falling asleep, happy to be spending time with a new friend.
Dust woke up, looking directly at the clock on her nightstand.
”7:37 A.M.”
She sighed as she turned to her side. Misty Fly was on her side, sleeping.
“Well…if she’s still sleeping, then what woke me up…?” She thought as she panned her vision around the slightly sun-lit room.
Her eyes landed on the door to the room, and she spotted a pegasus pony watching them.
“GAH…! WHO ARE YOU?!” She yelped as she leapt underneath the covers.
Mist Fly woke up, surprised as she got up to turn the light on. As she did, Soarin was inside the room with them and spooked Misty as well.
“Woah! Soarin…what’re you doing here…?” Misty Fly groaned.”
“I was gonna ask you the same thing…” He said, pointing to the bed.
Dust got out from the covers and locked eyes with Soarin, blushing.
A faint blush also appeared on Misty’s face as Soarin pressed a hoof over his mouth to keep from laughing.
“Ehm…it’s not what you think! We were just resting after lunch!” Dust exclaimed, looking down from embarrassment.
“Lunch you say…?” Soarin asked, nearly bursting out from laughter.
“Yeah…what time is it…?” Misty asked, perplexed by Soarin’s behavior.
“Uhh…7:40 A.M.” Dust replied.
“WHAT…?! HOW DID I SLEEP FOR THAT LONG?!” Misty exclaimed, surprised at herself.
Soarin started laughing, but quickly stopped to avoid the two mares staring daggers at her.
“You will not speak of this to any-pony, understand?” Misty Fly said sternly.
“Yeah…I won’t…” Soarin said, softly.
Dust couldn’t lie, those first two days on house arrest were some of the best times she’s ever had in a while.